At the Helm
by Yamino Tenshi 202
Summary: The boy seemed sincere, thoughts in paucity; And the Once-ler wondered when on Earth he/ Changed from a Once-ler into The Once-ler. He turned to the boy to whom he'd defer.「I will call you by my Whisper-ma-Phone, for the secrets I tell you are for your ears alone.」- Greed-ler/Once-ler, Once-ler/Lorax
1. Cockswain

Inside the Lerkim, he stayed holed up tight.  
>The Once-ler would try to stay warm at night<br>With his final Thneed wrapped around his neck fast,  
>He'd close his eyes, see how long sleep would last<br>Against his eyelids, he saw the soft Fluff  
>And the Truffula Trees, he missed enough<p>

Missed enough that his Thneed was his one care  
>And memories of the forest once there<br>Around his store, where the Bar-ba-loots grew  
>Eating tree fruit in their Bar-ba-loot suits<p>

And the Swomee Swans colored the whole sky  
>The Humming Fish hummed their songs, in mind's eye<br>Of the Once-ler, who longed for all to return  
>Whose heart in his sleep would begin to burn<p>

At the sound of the alarm down the stairs  
>The Once-ler opened his eyes, tried to care.<br>He looks outside to the boy down below  
>And he gestures to his pail and old rope<br>In go fifteen cents and a rusty nail,  
>Shell of a great-great-great-grandfather snail<p>

The Once-ler put them into the Snuvv hole  
>Where no secrets left, words hidden like moles<br>He thinks of the boy, eyes young and bright-like  
>Pools of hope there, potential; not unlike -<p>

『I'll bigger my fact'ries! Oh yes, I will!  
>Do you think I care of the things I kill?<br>This will make me happy! I'll make you see!  
>You'll be stuck in the Glump, envying me!』<p>

「Go away!」he wants to tell the young lad  
>At the thought, some... thing in him grew quite sad<br>The Once-ler looked down to his final Thneed  
>And thought of the life he'd chosen to lead<br>He turned from the Snuvv, and he saw the world  
>Oh yes! A chance of redemption unfurled!<p>

Now the Once-ler, pensive, thought of his tale  
>Of the boy who sat quietly by his pail<br>「I didn't think anyone cared 'bout the trees」  
>The boy nodded and asked 「Could you tell me please?<br>What happened to all of the trees? Could you…  
>「Even tell me what happened to the Lorax?<br>Back when my Grammy saw green Grickle grass,  
>And bears, swans, and fish lived in Trufulla Valley?<br>They went with the Lorax… Could you please tell me?」

The boy seemed sincere, thoughts in paucity  
>And the Once-ler wondered when on Earth he<br>Changed from a Once-ler into The Once-ler  
>He turned to the boy to whom he'd defer<br>「I will call you by my Whisper-ma-Phone,  
>for the secrets I tell you are for your ears alone.」<p> 


	2. Deadlight

「Before I was the Once-ler, I was a young man  
>I was like you; young, ready with a plan.」<br>He tells the boy his story, from the start  
>When he wanted to make and sell his art<br>But he left out details that made his stomach turn  
>About family, sweeties, and a musical churn<p>

Churn, he would do, to have music sing  
>And it was always the most wonderful thing<br>Mama would have him push the Canto-phone away  
>But as a little Once-ler, he'd have it play<br>Very soft like his sweeties, sweet like the milk  
>Of the butterflies; on his ears, gentle silk<p>

He'd play it soft in his room, alone  
>While his brothers, outside, would groan<br>About their small little brother, who was a big bore  
>Once-ler would be inside, reading on Moore<br>He loved his wit, and his Mama was pleased  
>That he was always so quiet, even when he sneezed<br>When he was silent, he was a good Once-ler  
>If he wasn't, he would get a loud slur<br>Bad Once-lers don't get good things; Not balls  
>Jacks, flapjacks, or get to play with Grizelda's dolls<br>They can't play concerts to the toys!  
>They are punished for all of their wretched noise!<p>

These words always stuck, gum to his one heart  
>But from his Mama, family, he never could part<br>Mama was always there, saying, surely, good things  
>About how one day, if he works, they'd live like kings<br>So Mama would stay, always keeping him close  
>Once-ler wanted her to be happy the most<br>So he would set off into the world to grow,  
>To make Thneeds, and have Mama's eyes glow<br>Out to the world he went with few trinkets  
>Leaving with the accompanying whinchats<p>

『My father did, too, though I never met him  
>But he left his guitar for me like a phantom limb』<br>As he continued to speak of his travels,  
>The Once-ler spoke, while he slowly unraveled<br>『Yes, perhaps that was the beginning of the maddening  
>Of the Noisy-voicies and the Baddening』<p>

「I was in search of things such as these!-」  
>『THOSE! Those things you once called Trufulla Trees!』<p>

The Once-ler left off with a silent sigh  
>And the boy just stood, looking up to this guy<br>The strange guy, who spoke like the old  
>Not even Grammy, in this way, had told<br>Him of this Once-ler or of the soft trees  
>In this silence, he bent his small knees<br>And sat on the stones, arranged in a ring  
>And he continued to listen when Once-ler began telling<br>Of the strange creature he'd called from the Earth,  
>Once he'd cut down the Tree, and to this world, gave birth<p>

* * *

><p>*Much of this was inspired by the cut song from the movie, "The Once-ler's Traveling Madness"<p>

*Canto-phone = Contrived of the Latin word for "music" and phone meaning "sound," this is my Seuss-ical word for "gramophone."

*Whinchats = European song birds that reside in grassy meadows


	3. Clean Slate

「The Lorax, a small fluff of Trufulla fae,  
>Came out of the tree I'd cut down that day」<br>The Once-ler thought back to the Lorax  
>The one whose tongue brought memories back<p>

『「I am the Lorax, I speak for the trees  
>I have words to say to you, if you please<br>I speak for the trees, as they have no tongues  
>I ask you now, from the top of my lungs<br>Why are you here?」He'd said in a huff  
>「And what have you done to my Truffula tuft?!」』<p>

The Once-ler shook his head, closing his eyes  
>So many years since; oh, how time has flown by<br>The days when he spent time with this sprite  
>And the animals. It had been such delight!<br>Playing music with the Humming Fish,  
>Listening to the Swans' pitch<br>And dancing with the Bar-ba-loots,  
>The Lorax explaining the trees from their roots<p>

Ten months to germinate, he'd said,  
>Ten more years, not even tufts on their heads!<br>At one-and-twenty, they become full trees  
>And the Lorax turned to the Once-ler 「Please?<br>Don't chop the rest down; we all need them, see?  
>They give us fresh fruit, and the air we breathe<br>Your Thneed cannot do this, though it does much  
>Perhaps pulling some tufts. It won't hurt. Not enough<br>That the trees won't be able to heal at all  
>It'd be much better than seeing another fall」<p>

As he tried to sell his marvelous Thneed,  
>The time he spent came haunting me<br>The animals and Lorax were all so kind  
>But he would quickly push that from his mind<br>He wanted to be one of the Greats,  
>As those before him, who'd helped progression take place<br>He would sing and jive, he'd have a good time  
>But people would throw tomatoes and limes<br>He'd be kicked out of town, sent home walking  
>The Once-ler would stay in his shop, never talking<p>

Didn't anyone see how the Thneed was great!  
>All of the useless junk it'd replace?!<br>He sat under a tree, looking to the sky  
>Then came the Lorax, who sat next to this guy<br>At first, the Once-ler ignored the strange sprite  
>Thinking his sadness was the other's delight<br>But many days passed, the Once-ler dejected  
>To the Valley, he'd go, never rejected<br>He showed his new friends his music, sweets,  
>And they would look at the stars, hidden, discrete<p>

And the Lorax would tell him of old lore  
>Of a time when trees ruled over. He'd soar<br>With the Swans and dive with the Fish  
>And dance with the Bar-ba-loots if he wished<br>Oh wonderful place was this Valley,  
>But the Once-ler never told the little laddy<br>Of these little details, oh dear no  
>For there are some secrets for the Once-ler alone<p>

Endearing things and feelings, sensations  
>The boy was too green to have this information<br>And of all things, it made the Once-ler feel small  
>To know the Lorax became his greatest friend of all<p>

* * *

><p>Notes:<p>

*"And the Lorax would tell him of old lore" - The Lorax is the spiritual counter-product of deforestation. Thusly, he is the Lore of the Ax.

*"To know the Lorax became his greatest friend of all" - Shakespeare often used a different word for "friend" in the play Julius Caesar: "lover"


	4. Cats Paws

Long notes at the bottom

* * *

><p>The Once-ler wondered if his tale was a bore<br>But most of his hearing gone, perhaps the boy'd snored  
>He looked and saw the lad, still attentive<br>He vaguely wondered of the boy's incentive  
>To listen to his story, but he hushed<br>And made sure to not have his story rushed

The boy, however, had begun to cough  
>The Once-ler waved him off with a scoff<br>「Come tomorrow,」he advised to the boy  
>「Why can't I stay?」The boy sat, like a ploy<br>To stay longer, but another cough came  
>And Once-ler didn't want the boy to be lame<br>「Go away...」He said. 「Come another day,  
>Lest you lose your breath」That was all he had to say<p>

He heard the boy walk back to his own town  
>He had the urge to rush the boy back around<br>Alone he'd been in his Lerkim so dreary,  
>Where the sour winds blew so eerily<br>Sixty-six years, he'd stayed in this place  
>Never seeing a warm, friendly face<br>He'd look through his boarded window  
>Looked to the town didn't care to know<br>That the world outside was filthy and dark  
>With nothing to break the landscape so stark<p>

_**Whamp!**_ came the whamping noise he knew well  
>He looked to the table where meals always fell<br>A noctivagous thing left food in pail  
>He'd eat and think 「For the want of a nail」<br>He never questioned from where it had come  
>He only asked it never come to his home<br>The Once-ler thanked the thing he'd never meet,  
>Took off his gloves, and began to eat<p>

He thought of the Lorax, strange little fae  
>And of all of the fun things they did those days<br>They'd swum with the fish, played in the shade  
>With the Bar-ba-loots and Swans; oh, how they'd played!<p>

With the thoughts of Thneeds out of his mind,  
>The Once-ler found the Lorax rather kind<br>He'd feed the baby animals, keep them safe  
>And the Once-ler, too, a proud, young waif<br>「What's it like in this Green-ville?」 the Lorax inquired.  
>「Well, people run on sugar and end up tired,<br>They run and don't stop, like the world's at its end  
>And you don't matter at all, lest you can buy your friends.」<br>The Once-ler thought of his family  
>「But not everyone's bad. No, not really.<br>Some people are mean but mean very well,  
>Like my mother. She'll be proud if I sell.」<br>The Lorax grew pensive and looked up to the man  
>The Once-ler walked to his books「Ever read a diwan?」<p>

He showed the sprite stories his mother had gotten  
>Unlike other things, it'd not been boughten<br>The first present he remembered his mother getting  
>Back when his behavior wasn't so upsetting<br>When he would stay quiet, away in his room  
>As she would care for the twins inside of her womb<br>She was proud that her boy could just disappear  
>And not upset her friend that would often jeer<br>At the Once-ler that was still very small  
>And could hardly remember his father at all<p>

The poems entertained them for many hours,  
>The air only scented with the smell of flowers<br>The Lorax heard of the beauty of roses,  
>And then to the Once-ler, he proposes<br>「You can stay here to live, if you want  
>If you honor your promise and keep this journey, a jaunt」<br>The Once-ler, stopping his turning of a page,  
>Felt their friendship had reached a new age<p>

He'd do his best to be an ascetic  
>And to pay heed to the Lorax's homiletic<br>Words and keep peace with the Valley  
>Little did he know, it'd lead to their finale<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Notes:<strong>

*"Sixty-eight years, he'd stayed in this place" - 1948 is the year in which commercially-made marshmallows were developed. Adding the time it would take for the entire Valley to be void of trees and seeds, being about four years, this leads me to having the Once-ler be 23 at the time of his arrival to the Valley. Currently in story, he'd be 89, which is logical with the way he talks to Ted about the younger generation in the movie. "The Lorax" was published in 1971, the same year when Starbucks was founded, making the random Starbucks references in the film chronologically accurate.

*「For the want of a nail」 - A reference to the proverbial rhyme that shows small actions leading to large consequences

*Greenville was the original name of Thneedville before the product's commercial success.

*The Once-ler seems to be very well educated for a young man. Growing up on a farm does not equate to financial security in education. It would have been around $6000 for the Once-ler to go to a four-year university. However, he already has clear grasps of economics, several sciences, engineering and electronics, financial and business management, and politics. Considering that they run a farm, a business in which most of the income goes back into supplies and plants, the Once-ler's family is not likely to be able to pay (or care) to send him to school. Hence, I give him a collection of diwan poems, Arabic and Persian poems, which emphasized several relationships between allegorical symbols. The one referred to here is that of the Nightingale and the Rose, the lover and the beloved.

*Homilectic - Relating to a homily or sermon


	5. Rough Wave

When the boy returned, he was feeling better

Breathing less with his nose, more through his sweater

And the cough seemed to have gone away

Perhaps the story would finish today?

.

「We'll make haste in finishing our tale

Less time will give time to heal, less to ail」

The Once-ler seemed lighter in his speech

Perhaps his cheeks were pink, like a peach

The boy nodded, breathing with the cloth

Thus, they continued from where they'd left off

.

「After days with the Lorax and creatures,

I noticed that the Valley seemed fevered

The Lorax said the trees let me be

And they were actually glad for my company」

.

The Once-ler smiled to the Lorax, saying

「I really mean my promise. Know I'm not playing.

This place is a paradise I couldn't have imagined,

Or else I would have this on my Travel-Agend」

There was no other reason that they could fathom

So neither thought to imagine what could happen

.

The sound of engines and wheels came curling by

And a person's voice shouted 「Look, it's that guy!

The guy who made the Thneed that's so great!」

「Will he let me buy it for $3.98?!」

The vehicles stopped by the Once-ler's house

And the Valley creatures were as silent as a mouse

.

The Once-ler, shocked, couldn't even believe it!

His Thneed was really something all people needed!

He looked down to the Lorax, who mimicked his silence

「Lorax, don't we have an alliance?」

The sprite looked up to the young man

「I promised I wouldn't hurt this land.

I'll need help to make sure that won't be.

Would my family be welcomed to this Valley?」

The Lorax shook his head 「No, that won't do

The Truffula trees took time to know you

But too many humans being inside this Valley

Could ruin it all. It might be a blind alley.」

.

The Once-ler sighed and went to talk to the crowd

Which was shouting for Thneeds to be sent all around

He calmed them all as best as he could

And tried to calm, too, the tall creatures of Wood

The trees sounded frightened, their tufts waved in the breeze

And the crowd finally left the Valley of Trees

.

The man looked at the choices before him

This kind of power felt very foreign

Never had he had power of choice

And never had he had a true voice

The trees whispered soft 「Stay with us please?

We'll have you fed with the fruit of us Truffula trees.

We'll keep you warm, and we'll keep you safe」

And the Once-ler remembered he was but a waif

.

A man in the forest, all alone in his dreams

He looked down at his Thneed, fresh at its seams

He thought of the Lorax, the kind being small

Thought of the trees, with roots deep and so tall

The Bar-ba-loots, Fish, and Swans around him, all alone

He looked to the Thneed and thought of his family back home

.

With his head slightly lowered, he nodded

And he went to his home, where he pricked, poked, and prodded

At an old radio-phone he had brought on the journey

And he called his Momma 「I'm a success. Won't you come to the Valley?」


	6. Fall Off

The Once-ler sketched out the factory

Where his thneeds would be made so quickly

Of course, that would come later in time

When he had the things to have it come to life

.

「Why do you need them here?」he heard

He turned to the Lorax, who looked hurt

「What's wrong?」 The Once-ler asked softly

The Lorax answered him by scoffing

.

「You are growing more and more greedy,

And you don't seem to care for the needy

Animals that you may harm with this plan」

The Once-ler sighed. 「Listen here, man.

I do mean my promise about the trees

And that they'll stay high and tall. If you please,

Let me have these plans, my friend」

He held out his hand, to make amends

.

At that instant, the Once-ler's radio-phone rang

He answered it after it rang 「Clangity-clang!」

『Oncie, where do we turn left again?』

「Mom, to North Nitch, and left at Weehawken」

『Okay, dear. We'll be there by tomorrow』

The Once-ler's mother then said she had to go

.

The man placed down his phone and smiled

The Lorax, however, sounded rageful and wild

「You think I don't care about your needs?

The trees invited you, despite your fool Thneeds.

It's a foolish thing to invite others here」

「I swear to you, you have nothing to fear」

The Once-ler reassured the small one

「Trust me when I say that no harm will be done」

.

The Lorax frowned and stepped back outside

The Once-ler frowned and turned back to design

The rooms for his buildings, and Greenville

Which was fifteen miles away, over two hills

He'd sold only several Thneeds at all,

But already, they'd given him the Key to City Hall

「You're quite the designer」 they told him, proud

「Could you make buildings to be seen from all 'round?

We'll help fund your business, there in the Valley.

Bring more Thneeds to our fundraising rally!」

But they took hours to knit and make,

He'd need a Thneed machine, for his own sake

.

The Once-ler embroidered every Thneed he'd made

So each one was unique, so he'd decorate

He could only imagine what his family would feel

But the amount of orders he received just wouldn't yield

And the needles in his skin sometimes left him scared

It wasn't like the Lorax or his family cared

That's what it sounded like, his Momma's bereavement

Over her oldest son's lack of achievements

Over the blood spilled without reason

Her frowns would stay on every season

.

「I'll probably need gloves soon」 he said aloud

As the Lorax came to be next to him on the ground

「Your hands are hurting? You may need to rest」

「No」 said the Once-ler 「This is just a test

To see if I really have what it takes」

He never noticed his hands' quakes and shakes

.

The Lorax watched as the Once-ler worked

Suddenly, he heard something and perked

His ears to the noise that came from outside

He and the man went outside, surprised

.

A horn came a-blaring a musical tune

The vehicle it came from burst into view

It was loud and big, with a horrible exhaust

And several people came out, whom the Once-ler would accost

「You'll all work for me, knitting the Thneeds

Or sewing or gathering, whatever we need」

.

『Gather? What do you mean 「gather」?』asked his mom, Isabella

「Well, on that note, let me introduce this fella」

The Once-ler introduced the Lorax 「My friend speaks for the trees」

「That is true」 said the Lorax 「They say to leave, if you please!」

.

Aghast, the man excused them both

「What' s wrong? I promised. I gave you an oath!」

「Will they be so keen on this? You think you're so strong?

What ever pride you have is most certainly wrong!」

.

The Once-ler frowned, shoulders in a slump

「Look, I don't want to be in the Gluppity-Glupp

I want to be successful, so I've been figgering

That my company is going to need some biggering」

.

The Lorax sighed, body limp with defeat.

He turned to walk away, before his voice came, discreet

「Be careful of the decisions you make

The tree always bends before it breaks

You humans aren't like that, when so ambitious

And make decisions, not of need, but capricious

Please, keep your promise, you Once-ler, you

And the thoughts that your choices affect us, too」

.

「All right,」 he answered, watching him leave

「Oncie, I'm so proud」said his mother, allowing no reprieve

「Are you really?」 His heart was cheering

It was something he'd always desired hearing

Her words of praise and happiness, clear

「I'm going to set up the factory here」

He explained, unveiling his plans

「Well, I'm certain that it's in good hands」

Isabella patted his shoulder and kissed his cheeks

And the Once-ler felt more happy than he had in weeks

And months when thinking of home

And all for his Thneed and the Radio-phone

「So we'll gather the tufts and start from there

A Gather-Matron will later handle the affair」

.

Isabella nodded, leading the family to gather

As the Once-ler sat down and then heard a blather

Into his small cottage, he walked「Who's there?」

But nothing was there, except for the air

「Who's there?」 he inquired, but there was no answer

And then he heard in his mind a whisper:

「Hello, Mr Once-ler.」

* * *

><p>* All of the original short references :)<br>* I wanted more of the conflict that was involved in the original short. There is a hesitancy to the 2012 Once-ler that could have been expanded beautifully.  
>* The Once-ler has a name in this story, but I will choose to reveal it or not later.<br>* Guess who?


End file.
